We are going through solving equations in algebra, and manipulating variable expressions, then applying that to word problems and problems on the SSAT.

Today, Liam answered reading comprehension questions regarding chapters 6-10 of "Across Five Aprils." He knew most of the answers, only missing one plot turn that occurred in chapter 10 (between characters Shad and Jenny). We read chapters 11 and 12 together, finishing the novel and discussing the Civil War, as well as the themes of imperfect peace and coming of age.

We worked on solving algebraic equations with three steps. I read the equation out loud, and he represented it in mathematical form, then solved and checked his solution.Then, we switched gears a little bit and started a practice test for the mat SSAT.

Today, Liam and I reviewed chapters 5 and 6 of his summer reading text, "Across Five Aprils." I asked him comprehension questions. He was able to summarize well, but had forgotten vital details in the text, and had confused a few new characters. I looked in his book, and it had no markings. He has not taken notes. I encourage him to increase his interaction with the text by annotating. While I was with him, I had him highlight important plot turns, and I had him write the month/year in the margins. I also gave him a copy of a Civil War timeline that will help him follow the war as it progresses in the book. He will continue to read and annotate the rest of the chapters for our next meeting.

We went over the practice drill that I gave him last week to work on. Then, we started the new practice drill for the upper level SSAT test. We then went over the properties of exponents and simplifying expressions using them. He has practice.

Today, Liam and I read and discussed 8 pages of his summer reading book "Across Five Aprils." We made a character diagram, discussed Biblical character names and their meanings, made predictions, and learned about the historical period. He will continue reading on his spare time. We also went over the 15 vocabulary words of Lesson 1 in the Wordly Wise 8th grade text. He mastered 11 out of 15. The four words he can continue to review are the following: rebuff, avid, demean, and evoke.

Liam and I went over the problems that he was given last week for practice at home. We then started looking at the SSAT book, and solving problems in there.

Today. Liam and I did the following:
1. Reviewed SSAT reading strategies (how to approach general questions and specific questions)
2. Practiced with SSAT Practice Drills 16-19 (His scores for 18 and 19 were 50% and 80%, respectively, so there was some improvement.)
3. Read the first few pages of his summer reading book "Across Five Aprils," and discussed tone, characterization, and predictions.

We are consistently working on converting word problems into mathematical notation to solve. Today we practiced some word problems that required two step solving of equations.

Today, Liam and I reviewed two articles from the "Daredevils" Critical Reading Series: "Mario Andretti: Racing Legend" and "Elephant Keepers." He completed the first set of comprehension questions independently, earning a score of 80% out of 100%. We discussed weaknesses and strategies for improvement. I followed up the readings with one chapter each in the Specific Skills Series workbooks "Getting the Main Idea H" and "Identifying Inferences F." He is showing great improvement in both areas already. Together, we plan to work on the SSAT reading comprehension sections and his new summer reading book next week.